Man City agree £21.2m Saudi Arabia move for Cancelo

Manchester City paid £60m to sign Portugal defender Joao Cancelo from Juventus in 2019. Getty Images

Simon Stone & Nizaar Kinsella, August 27 — Manchester City have agreed a £21.2m deal with Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal to sell defender Joao Cancelo.

Personal terms are not thought to be a problem, although Cancelo is yet to agree to the move.

If he does, the 30-year-old is expected to sign a three-year contract, ending his five-year stay at Etihad Stadium.

City manager Pep Guardiola said this month Cancelo could play for the club again.

However, the disagreement which led to Cancelo spending time on loan with Bayern Munich and Barcelona over the past 18 months was always likely to prove a major stumbling block.

Cancelo has not been involved in City's two Premier League games this season.

He also missed the Community Shield victory over Manchester United when a number of City players were unavailable having featured at the European Championship in Germany.

Initially, the Portugal defender became Guardiola's first inverted full-back, but then lost his place just months after signing a new contract in 2022.